Pune: Following the five-day Diwali festive season the Pune district has now reported an alarming number of new Covid-19 cases hinting early signs of the much anticipated second wave of the virus. Compared to the weeks prior to diwali where the cases average around 300 per day, now there is an addition of 785 fresh Coronavirus positive cases on Friday alone.
During the five days of festivities and a period prior to that during which people flocked the streets in huge numbers, the social distancing norms indeed went for a toss. The administration from time to time had hinted and anticipated that there could be an immediate rise in cases post Diwali. The total number of COVID cases has reached 334,511 in Pune district. Also, 634 patients got discharged from hospitals while 23 people succumbed to the disease.
Dr Subhash Salunkhe, epidemiologist and chairman of the state technical committee on communicable diseases, said, “This is exactly what we had anticipated and what we are witnessing. The cases are rising alarmingly. Although, we do believe that the severity of the second wave would not be as much as the first one as we are seeing in European countries, however, there is still a sizable population in the city which has not yet been exposed to the virus which is still as much susceptible as they were earlier.”
Dr Bhagwan Pawar, District Health Officer (DHO) added, “Most of the patients are from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) area. Till now 15,34,906 people have been tested in the district.”